Washington tackle Trent Williams specifically has said that he didn’t object to a trade to the Vikings. His agent has provided a more general denial regarding the notion that the player has put the kibosh on potential trades.
“On behalf of my client Trent Williams and with the permission of the Washington Redskins, I sought trade opportunities for the Redskins to trade Trent,” agent Vincent Taylor said in a statement issued Saturday morning. “Once I identified the potential trade partners, I wanted to respect all teams’ rights and the process and allowed the Redskins to negotiate directly with the other teams. There has been false reporting that Trent and I objected to particular trades. I will continue to respect the Redskins’ right to negotiate a trade, and hope that the negotiations quickly lead to a trade that is in the Redskins’ interest, Trent’s interest, and the interest of the other team.”
Whatever the reason, Washington has been unable to find a trade partner. Maybe Washington wants too much. Maybe Williams and Taylor want too much. Either way, the landing spots are drying up -- from Cleveland to Tampa Bay to Minnesota -- as suitors selected rookie tackles instead.
And it’s foolish to think that Williams and Taylor have no role in killing these potential deals. Williams’ contractual expectations surely are a factor, because unless he’s happy with whatever he’s getting he’ll just continue to stay away from the team that trades for him, in the same way that he’s staying away from Washington.
Here’s the simply reality: Williams and Taylor know that Williams gets more money if a team doesn’t have to trade for him. And it continues to feel like, no matter what they say publicly, that’s the outcome Williams and Taylor are trying to engineer: To get Williams released, presumably so that he can get Laremy Tunsil money.